Gear recommendations in COR guidebook?

I'm curious what folks think about gear recommendations in my new City guidebook. I've always been hesitant to give a piece-by-piece list, and prefer more general notes like; "bring large cams for anchor" or "extra finger-sized gear".
I know that some people want to know exactly what gear to bring. Any thoughts on this?

dave bingham wrote:I'm curious what folks think about gear recommendations in my new City guidebook. I've always been hesitant to give a piece-by-piece list, and prefer more general notes like; "bring large cams for anchor" or "extra finger-sized gear". I know that some people want to know exactly what gear to bring. Any thoughts on this?

Dave, I haven't climbed at COR or seen your guidebook. I have a pretty good collection of guidebooks, though. I don't think any of them give exact pieces, since the need for more or less pieces would vary based on the skill and confidence of the individual climber.

I like reading things like - "single .3 - 4", doubles 1" and 2" Which is a good starting point. Also, the anchor needs are helpful, as you mentioned.

Obviously, some climbers want less gear recommendations and some like more .

I agree with Frank. I'd like to add that specifics are really helpful when the climb has a lot of bolts too. It's really annoying when the beta is "you will need a piece to get to the anchor" or something like that. Also, if the route doesn't take anything smaller than say a #1 Camelot and no stoppers, it's nice to know that before heading up. Come to think of it... it might be nice if guidebooks focused more on what you DON'T need than what you do, since a lot of times when you try to give specific gear beta, someone can often find a different but similarly sized piece that works even better. I usually just read all the comments on MP though! Ha!

General gear recommendations would be awesome, as it can sometimes be quite difficult to tell from the ground at the COR. Even more important would be knowing which routes are fully bolt protected and which are mixed gear and bolts, as there are a lot of those at the city.

Thanks for your hard work Dave. I think everyone who frequents the city is excited about the new book.

Agree with the above statement about anchor suggestions.

Thanks guys, Good comments!
The new book has color coding on route descriptions and on photo lines. Red=gear Yellow=mixed Green=bolt.

It's interesting that a bunch of the old bolted routes don't really feel much like "Sport" routes in the modern sense - i.e. "Swiss Cheese"or "New Toy".

I prefer the general approach as you've described it.

There is a trend here for people to provide highly detailed gear lists for routes that have been climbed for 30 years or more. Half the time I find them misleading, or at least inconsistent with what I would do, so potentially of negative value.

Length of route and top anchors/descent is of much greater value.

Thanks for the books.

Information about the anchors is most useful, especially for routes that summit the formations and where you cannot see the top. When there are no rap anchors, descent information is nice.

You could note that for the moderates on the west side of Owl Rock, each of the bolts might just prevent one from hitting the ground.

Thanks for all the work on these guidebooks.

dave bingham wrote:"bring large cams for anchor" or "extra finger-sized gear"

That's perfect.

Sometimes one runs into fun placements like this:



(next door at the Castle)

But, that's not common.

Good to see you last weekend! Thanks for the "peat"!

I prefer the general approach unless something is totally out of character. Then maybe mention it size wise, or just as a surprise to expect. I liked how you did climbs like "Holding Out For a Hero" on Anteater. Just a hint of something funky! Always funner to learn about the climb on the climb.